Shattered
by Ivy Leaves
Summary: Part One of Broken Days duet. He's scared of the voices, and only one person cares enough...


Slide

Shattered

Shattered, I stumble

Scared, I crumble

Shaken, I fall

Defiantly I fight it all

Voices. Angry voices. These days there was never anything except loud, angry voices, voices that he could hear echoing through the hallways to seep into the cracks of the closed door and bring themselves to his ears.

His eyes traveled around his bedroom in an attempt to distract him from the meaningless words pouring through the air.

A couple of posters stood proudly on the walls, along with trophies and pictures and awards… he was such a perfect teenager. An overachiever through and through, and he liked it that way.

Except when it couldn't get him away from the truth of what was lying behind closed doors. The voices that were imprisoned in his house. They had only started a week ago, but already he was dying from it. The pain was so tremendous he was surprised it didn't sweep him away.

He had gone through it once, and he didn't want to go through it again.

He grabbed his jacket and headed out of his room, intent on getting out of the jailhouse that locked up his joy. One of these days, that joy might even suffer the death penalty.

If it hadn't already.

Shattered, I break

Scared, I take

Needing, I want

Broken – Broken – Broken 

She looked up as he entered the room.

"You're late," she informed him with a tinge of annoyance brushed into her brusque voice.

"Sorry. I got held up." He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Just don't do it again," she warned him with a smile, surrendering.

"Of course not."

She smiled quickly at him and then looked back down at her book to study. He was never late. This was only the second time in almost three years that he had been late, or at least over five minutes, and something was up.

Oh yes, something was definitely up.

Breaking, I fall

Defiantly I fight it all

Shattered, I need

Shattered—so shattered, I plead

"Whoa, Tyler, you look horrible," Hank informed the blond. Val shrugged.

"I have to agree," she said. "What happened? Did you get any sleep last night?"

"Not much," he admitted, but it was already evident by his eyes, which were tired and slightly bloodshot.

"Did you have too much caffeine on one of your two nights off?" Val teased. "I thought we were supposed to save the coffee for when we had to do twenty-fours."

"Very funny," he said dryly. "I just got caught with a bout of insomnia, I guess."

He didn't mention that the insomnia was brought on by the heated argument that crackled in every breath and word.

Break me

Take me

Shake me

Shattered

"What's wrong?" she asked him, coming up to the side of the table where he was eating lunch. He looked at her, confusion in his eyes.

"What?"

"You've been pulling away from everyone," she informed him, sliding into the seat across from him. "I mean, look, you aren't even sitting with anyone today."

"That' s because Hank and Jeremy and Alex are supposed to meet me here," he argued. "And I just sat down."

"No." Her one-syllable protest was short and brisk. "You haven't been yourself lately, and I want to know why."

"I don't know what you're talking about," he informed her. Val shrugged in reply, then frowned as she looked at his neck.

"Is someone abusing you?" she asked in a low voice, reaching out to touch the bruise on it. He stared at her in shock.

"No, that was when Jamie accidentally hit me with a stethoscope yesterday, remember? No one's abusing me."

"Oh." Val turned slightly pink and withdrew her hand, an action that he regretted. It had felt nice…_ No. No. No. Not the right time or place, _he reminded himself, and that was that.

"Well, I'm going to find out, Tyler," she informed him, standing up and heading over to another lunch table. "You can't just hide from everyone."

Of course not—but it would be nice if he could.

Shattered, I stumble

Scared, I crumble

Shaken, I fall

Defiantly I fight it all

The droplets of water sprayed onto the white metal, cleansing methodically. He turned the hose off and walked around the ambulance. Almost done, and then he could start on his English homework, and then the shift would be over…

And then he would go home.

His eyes darkened at the thought. Home was not a welcome place anymore. Maybe he could go to the library…

"Tell me." The two words startled him, pushing his thoughts away with surprise as he turned around to see Val looking at him firmly, with her hands planted on her hips.

"Tell you what?"

"Tell me what's happening, and don't say nothing's happening, because I know that something's happening and something is wrong."

"Nothing's wrong, Val! Drop it!" He turned around, fully intending to continue his job washing the ambulance, but she spun him around again.

"Something is wrong," she insisted, "and if you don't tell me what it is, then I'll tell Alex to put you on the DL and call your parents."

"Val…"

"Tell me," she said again, pleading him with her eyes. "I'm not going to say it's stupid."

"My parents," he began, throat dry. Her eyes grew understanding.

"William?"

"No—I mean—I'm used to him now, I've accepted him, but for the past two weeks—they've been arguing. Fighting. All the sound rips through the house and I feel like I can't breathe anymore, let alone do anything inside of that—that_ jail cell. _It feels like the world is just crashing down, and… Val, this is what happened when my parents split. When my dad left."

He couldn't be crying, could he? The trickle of salty water on his cheek told him that he was, but that was unbelievable. He couldn't cry—especially not in front of Val.

"Oh… Tyler… I'm so sorry."

"There was so much fighting, and then they divorced and he left us. You know that he forgot my birthday four out of five years? He left when I was twelve—I'm seventeen now, and I'm willing to bet he only remembered my sixteenth because my mom called and reminded him. Forced him to send the card. Do you know how hard it is to have a dad you never see?"

"No, I don't," Val confessed in a soft voice, "but I'm willing to bet that it's the worst thing on the face of the planet."

"The understatement of the year," he informed her, leaning against the ambulance. "I don't want that to happen again." The trickles were pouring now, in torrents down his face. Val gently put her arms around his neck and let the tears fall into her shoulder.

"You know that my mom and dad used to fight a lot, before the heart attack. I told you. Tyler, I'm sure William and your mom aren't splitting. There's been a lot of stress lately—it's a busy time of the year. It's hard to keep your head from ripping down the middle. I bet they're just having trouble at the office or something." Her head was buried in his neck, so the words were muffled, but he understood.

"Yeah, sure." He didn't sound like he believed her.

"Well, you know," she began, lifting her head from his shoulder and looking him in the eye, "there's someone who will always be there for you."

"And that would be…?" The look in her eyes answered his question entirely.

"I thought that was painfully obvious," she whispered before she gently kissed him.

Shattered, I miss

The way you kiss

Shaken, I know

Nowhere else to go

"Tyler's out in the back yard, I think," Daphne Connell Jenks informed Val as the blonde entered the front hallway. Val flashed her a smile.

"Thank you. Mind if I go out there?"

"Not at all."

Val disappeared out the back door and William nodded approvingly.

"She's absolutely wonderful for Tyler," he told Daphne, who nodded agreement.

"She's exactly what Tyler needs—now, come on, we're going to be late."

The door closed behind them.

Broken, I need

You, I plead

Shattered – Shattered

Shatter me

"You know, I thought people were occasionally supposed to come greet their girlfriends when they come over," Val said to him. He smiled up at her.

"I didn't know you were coming."

"Very true." Val sat down in the hammock next to him. "So, where are William and your mom going?"

"Marriage counseling. They're almost done with it."

"So the fights have stopped?" She laid down next to him, balancing the hammock better.

"Thankfully, yes." Val grinned and snuggled into him. "There wasn't a reason why you came over, was there?"

"No. I just wanted to come bother you."

"You never bother me." He kissed her, as if to prove his point. "I love you."

"I love you, too," she replied. Her eyes flew open quickly as she sat up…

And tumbled out of the hammock.

"Are you okay?" he asked worriedly. Val nodded and got up, looking at him suspiciously.

"You never said you loved me before," she said accusingly.

"I didn't know how you would take it," he responded. "And you've never said it before either."

"Don't say it if you don't mean it," she warned him, beginning to pace. "Because I don't want to hear it if you don't mean it."

He tumbled out of the hammock. "Val, look. You were the only one who was there for me throughout this whole thing, you were the one who cared about me enough not to let me go. If I wasn't in love with you by now—our one-month anniversary—then don't you think I would be the biggest imbecile alive?" He kissed her again. "I. Love. You."

"You always have to do everything exactly right, don't you?" she inquired. He shrugged.

"Mostly. When I was nine I used the wrong fork at a fancy dinner, but other than that? I'm the ideal man in every way." Val rolled her eyes.

"Self-absorbed jerk," she teased.

"I wish I could say the same about you," he said. Val grinned.

"Well, me? I'm just perfect."

Scared, I miss

The way you kiss

So shatter me

Shatter me

Shatter me

Ick. That was SUPPOSED to turn out better. Ah well. *deep sigh* Um, the song is *cough* mine and was literally written in two minutes, so that the title would fit. *sheepish grin* Don't comment. Ah well. I need to pack for camp *groan*, so I have to go, but please review!

---IVY 


End file.
